Material distributing apparatus



Dec. 14, 1943. J. N. sl-:LvlG

MATERIAL DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 4, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. N. SELVIG ATTORNEY Dec. 14, 1943. J. N. sELvlG MATERIAL DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 4, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 L 1), all;

82 /NVEN TOR J./V. SELV/G A TTORNEV Patented Dec. 14, 1943 UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE MATERIAL DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS John N. Selvig, Westiield, N. `1., assignor to Western Electric Company,

Incorporated, New

York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 4, 1941, Serial No. 417,812

14 Claims.

many instances to make adjustments in suchA machines to produce or insulate wires of various gages. It has, therefore, been found advantageous to provide distributing mechanism for such machines which may be capable of variations with the variations in the size or gage of the wires, to cause even and closely adjacent lay of the convolutions of the strands on the takeup reels.

An object of the invention is to provide a ma-4 terial distributing apparatus which is highly eiiicient and accurately variable in distributing strands on take-up reels.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises material distributing apparatus including a guide movable by a mechanism which is variable, to vary the speed of travel of the guide and the limits between which it travels.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a side elevationalview of the apparatus, portions thereof being shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig; 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the actuating mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 1-1 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, attention is mst directed to rigs. 1 and 2 which mustrate a frame I with suitable reenforcing cross pieces II, I2 and I4, the cross pieces II and I2 serving to support brackets I and I6 respectively. The brackets I5 have shafts I1 journalled in their upper ends to support reels I8 and I9, these reels being driven by any suitable means (not shown) to cause winding of strands thereon. The brackets I5 may have their lower ends mounted upon a common shaft or pivot rod (not shown) the ends of which may be supported by the cross piece I I to allow movement of the brackets with their reels outwardly from the winding positions shown to what might be termed loading positions, where full reels may be removed from the shafts I1 and empty reels disposed thereon. A detailed illustration of this structure for the movement of the reels at separate intervals between loading positions and operating positions is not believed necessary to illustrate the invention. The brackets I6 may also be mounted upon a common :shaft or pivot rod (not shown) the ends of which may be supported by the cross piece I2 for movement of the brackets between operating and loading positions. The brackets I6 rotatably support shafts 20 for reels 2| and 22, these reels also being driven by suitable means (not shown) for the winding of strands thereon.

A supporting bracket 25 is mounted upon the top of the frame I0, this bracket having lateral arms 26 to support sets of sheaves 21-28 and 29-30. strand 3I from a supply (not shown) and directs the strand to either one of the reels 2| or 22. The set of sheaves 29-30 receives a strand 32 from a supply (not shown) and directs the strand to either of the reels' I8 or I9.

Guides 35 and 36 of the contours illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 are mounted upon reciprocal bars 31 and 38 respectively, the latter being slidably supported in guides 39 and 40, these being mounted upon the frame I0. The guides 35 and 36 project outwardly from their bars 31 and 38, as illustrated in Fig. 2, to maintain contact with their strands through the building up of the convolutions of the strands on the reels. The guides are further formed with curved side surfaces 4I and 42 respectively, these surfaces, when the guides are at the center of their movements, being in 4general alignment with the vertical centers of their respective reels. The left hand surfaces 4I and 42 guide strands 3| and 32 to the reels 2| and I8 respectively, while the right hand surfaces guide the strands 3I and 32 to the reels 22 and I9 respectively. In this manner one of each set of reels remains empty, while its companion reel is being filled, and is ready to receive the strand when the companion reel is filled to allow continuous processing of the strands. This also allows Pmovement of the lled reel into loading position through the movement of its bracket so that it may be removed from its bracket, an empty reel disposed in place thereon and the empty reel ith the bracket moved again into loading posi- Racks 45 and 46 are mounted upon the inner The set ci sheaves 21-28 receives a surfaces of the reciprocal bars 31 and 38, these racks interengaging pinions 41 and 48 respectively. The pinions 41 and 48 are mounted upon or formed integral with shafts 49 and 50 respectively, these shafts being journalled in suitable bearings I supported by the frame I0. The inner ends of the shafts 49 and 56 have pinions 53 and 54 respectively formed integral therewith l or mounted thereon, these pinions being also illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

Attention is now directed to Figs.- 3, 4 and 5,

- which illustrate in detail the mechanism for reciprocating the .bars 31 and 38 and thus reciprocating the guides 35 and 36 respectively. 'I'his mechanism is driven by a power means (not shown) connected to a chain 56 which drives a sprocket wheel 51. The sprocket wheel 51 when driven, causes rotation of a shaft 58 upon which a worm 59 is mounted, the latter interengaging and causing rotation of a worm gear 60. The worm gear 60 in rotating drives a shaft 6| upon which it is mounted, the shaft in turn driving a worm 62 to drive a worm gear 63. The -worm gear 63 is mounted upon a shaft 64, the latter also having a heart-shaped cam 65 mounted thereon and rotated therewith to cause reciprocal movement of a rack 66 through companion rollers 61 and 68 supported by the rack and disposed at diametrically opposed positions relative to the cam 65. Teeth 69 of the rack 66 interengage a pinion upon a shaft 1|, the shaft 1| also supporting a gear 12 which interengages teeth 13 of a main rack 14. A housing is formed vto house the major portion of the mechanism thus far described, providing bearings for the shafts 58, 6|, 64 and 1I and providing guides for the reciprocal movement of the racks 66 and 14 as well as an auxiliary rack 16. A guide 11 for the upper ends of the racks 14 and 16 is supported by the cross pieces 4. The racks 14 and 16 are of the general contour illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, they being formed to move in the same guides, in the same directions, yet at the same or variable speeds and the same or variable distances. 'Ihe rack 16 has sets of teeth 18 and 19 for interengaging their respective pinions 53 and 54. The upper ends of the racks 14 and 16 terminate at 80 and 8| respectively and to the adjacent ends of these racks, sets of plates; 82 and 83 are secured. The plates 82 and 83 of each set are disposed one upon each side of their respective racks. These plates extend upwardly beyond the ends of the racks and have blocks 84 and 85 respectively disposed between the plates of each set and secured in place, the sets of plates with their end blocks providing apertures to receive an end 81 of a control arm 88. The end 81 of the control arm is pivoted at 89 to the plates 82 and has a forked end providing a recess 90 to receive a block-shaped member 9|. The member 9| is centrally apertured to receive a pivot pin 92 supported by the plates 83. With this construction the end 81 of the arm 88 is pivoted through 89 to the rack 14 and is also pivoted through the member 9| and the pin 92 to the rack 16, the latter connection allowing relative movement of the pivots during the arcuate movement of the arm.

The remaining portion of the arm 88 extends downwardly to a position, indicated at 94, adjacent to which a roller 95 is mounted as illustrated in Fig. 4. I'he roller 95 is positioned in a groove 96 of a cam 91, the latter being U-shaped in cross section. The cam 91 is pivotally supported, at 98, upon a bracket 99. the latter extending upwardly and being mounted upon the guide 11 for the upper ends of the racks 14 and 16. The lower end of the bracket 99 is widened, as at |00, and provided with an arcuate aperture I0| through which a threaded projection |02, fixed to the cam 91, extends. A suitable nut |03 and washer I 04 are disposed on the threaded projection |02 to serve for securing the cam 91 in any desired position about its pivot 98.

When the apparatus is in operation let it be assumed that the reels I8, I9, 2| and 22 are in their operating positions and that the strands 3| and 32 are being wound upon their respective reels 22 and I9 atconstant and like speeds. During the travel of the strands to the reels the strands pass by their respective guides 35 and 36 and are thus distributed on the reels during the reciprocal movements of the guides. The guides are reciprocated through-the actuating mechanism shown in Figs. 3,to 6 inclusive, this mechanism being operated through the power means (not shown) driving the chain 56, which in turn drives the sprocket wheel 51, rotating the worm 59 to drive the worm gear 60. The worm gear 60 drives the shaft 6I driving the worm 62, which in Aturn drives the worm gear 63, the latter causing rotation of the heart-shaped cam 65 to impart reciprocal movement to the rack 66. The rack 66 causes rotation of the gear 12 through its pinion 10 and shaft 1I to cause reciprocal movement of the rack 14 between definite limits and during definite time intervals.

The travel of the rack 14 is, therefore, oonstant and if the rack 16 should be caused to move with the rack 14 at the same speed and between the same limits, the pinions 53 and 54 would be rotated to cause movement of their respective guides 35 and 36 between definite limits and during denite time intervals. Such an arrangement is desirable for a particular gage or size of strand. However, if smaller or larger strands are being distributed on the reels, it is desirable to vary the distance of travel of the guides and the time intervals in which they travel these varied distances. For example, a large strand travelling at a given speed will require a fewer number of turns to complete a layer, that is the distance between the heads of the reels, than would be required of a smaller strand. 'I'he smaller the strand the closer the center lines thereof may be disclosed adjacent the heads of the reels. Therefore, with larger strands it is desirable to shorten the distances in which the guides are moved, whereas with smaller strands it is desirable to lengthen these distances.v 'I'his is brought about through the adjustment of the cam 91 to control the arm 88.

With the cam 91 in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 5, it will cause the arm to function in lengthening the stroke o1' the rack 16 beyond the limits of movement of the rack 14. The racks 14 and 16 are, as shown in Fig. 3, at the beginning of their upward movement. Here the rack 16 is disposed a distance lower than the rack 14 and through the control of the cam 91'and the arm 88, the rack 16 will be moved the same distance beyond the rack 14 at the end of the upward movements of the racks. With the cam 91 in the position shown, the lower end thereof being moved to the right of the pivot 98, positioning the upper end thereof to the left of the pivot, slightly downward below the pivot 89, slightly lower than As the' rack 14 moves upwardly, the

the end 81 of the arm is at a angle, positioning the pin 92 thus positioning the rack 16 the rack 14.

16 through the connection of the 'member 9|l and the pin 92. The relationship of the'pin 92 and pivot 89 varies during their upward travel, this variation being brought about through the cam 91 in which the roller 95 travels in the angular path, causing arcuate movement of the arm gradually so that the rack 16 will be moved at a constant speed during the constant speed of travel of the rack 14 but at a faster rate so that during the time interval of travel of the rack 14, the rack 16 will have covered a greater distance and at a faster rate of speed. As the roller 95 approaches the upper end it moves to the left in its cam groove, moving the arm arcuately about the pivot and advancing the pbsition of the pin 92 relative to the pivot 88.

A similar operation takes place` during the downward movement of the racks 14 and 16. At the beginning of the downward movement the rack 16 is positioned slightly higher than the rack 14 and, through the control of the arm 88 and its cam 91, the rack 16 will travel at a faster speed than the rack 14 to reach its lower limit beyond the rack 14 before the latter reaches its lower limit. The mechanism thus described conditions the apparatus for handling smaller types of strands which must be moved greater distances, to ll the reels, than is required of larger strands. If the smaller strands are advanced at faster speeds than the larger strands no further variation need be made. However, if all strands, regardless of their size, are advanced at the same speeds, then it is desirable to replace the sprocket wheel 51 with a larger sprocket wheel so that the speed of movement of the racks 14 and 16 may be reduced to allow for the winding of a greater number of convolutions required for smaller strands to ll the reels uniformly.

The mechanism has been described regarding medium size strands and smaller size strands where the racks respectively move at like speeds and like distances and where the rack 16 moves at a faster speed and a greater distance than the rack 14. but it has not been described how the mechanism may be operated for larger sizes of strands. To vary the mechanism for this purpose, the nut |03 for holding the cam 91 may be loosened and the cam adjusted clockwise to a position desired depending upon the size of the strand. Let it be assumed that the cam is moved as far as possible clockwise and secured there in place. In this position the roller 95 will cause the arm 88 to start in its upward movement with the rack 16 in advance of the rack 14, resulting in the reverse action from that illustrated and previously described. In other words, the rack 16 will move through a shorter distance beginning above the rack 14 for its upward movement, and through the control of the cam 91 and the arm 88 terminate lower than the rack 1,4 when the latter has completed its upward movement. In this manner the rotation of the pinions 53 and 54 is shortened due to the shortening of the travel of the rack 16, thus reducing the distance of travel of the guides 35 and 36. This is made possible for the larger strands which cannot be laid with their center lines as close to the head of the reels as is possible with the smaller' strands. Attention is directed to the fact that the arm 88, through the control of the cam 91, moves with the rack 14 but not relative thereto when the cam is parallel with the rack. However-,the arm movesl clockwise or counterclockwise relative to the rack when the cam is adfjust'ed icounterclockwise and clockwise respectively.

Thel embodiments of the invention herein dis closed are merely illustrative and may be widely modified and departed from in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as pointed out in and limited solely by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A material distributing apparatus comprising a guide movable to distribute an advancing material, a driving element reciprocable between given limits at a predetermined speed, a reciprocable driven element adapted to reciprocate the guide, and a variable connection between the driving/,element and the driven element to render the drr ing element effective to cause reciprocation of the driven element and guide between variable limits and at variable speeds.

2. A material distributing apparatus comprising a guide movable to distribute an advancing material, a driving rack, means to reciprocate the rack between given limits, a driven rack operatively connected to the guide, and means operatively connecting the racks to each other to eiect movement of the guide variable distances by varying the `distance the driven rack is moved with the driving rack.

3. A material distributing apparatus comprising a guide movable to distribute an advancing material, a driving rack, means to reciprocate the rack between given limits, a driven rack operatively connected to the guide, and means operatively connecting the racks to each other to eiect movement of the guide at variable speeds by varying the relative speed of movement of the racks.

4. A material distributing apparatus comprising a guide movable to distribute an advancing material, a driving rack, means to reciprocate the rack between' given limits at a constant speed, a driven rack operatively connected to the guide, and a controlling element adapting the driving rack to move the driven rack at variable speeds to vary the speed of movement of the guide.

5. A material distributing apparatus comprising a guide movable to distribute an advancing material, a driving rack, means to reciprocate the rack between given limits, a driven rack operatively connected to the guide, and a controlling element adapting the driving rack to cause movement of the driven rack variable distances with respect to the given limits to vary the distance of movement of the guide.

6. A material distributing apparatus comprising a guide movable to distribute an advancing material, a driving rack, means\` to reciprocate the rack between given limits, a driven rack operatively connected to the guide a controlling element adapting the driven rac for movement variable distances with the driven rack to vary the distance of movement of the guide, and means to vary the speed of movement of the driven rack to vary the speed of movement of the guide. v

'7. A material distributing apparatus comprising a guide movable to distribute an advancing material, a driving rack, means to reciprocate the rack between given limits, a driven rack operatively connected to the guide, a controlling element movable with the racks and operatively connected thereto, and means to guide the movement of the controlling element to control the relative movement of the racks to vary the distance of the reciprocable movement of the guide.

8. A material distributing apparatus comprislng Aa guide movable to distribute an advancing material, a driving element, means to reciprocate the element between given limits, a driven element operatively connected to the guide to move the guide, and a controlling unit adapting the driving element during its movement vbetween the given limits to reciprocate the driven element variable distances at variable speeds to vary the distance and speed of movement of the guide.

9. A material distributing apparatus comprising a guide movable to distribute an advancing material, a driving element, means to reciprocate the element between given limits, a driven element operatively connected to the guide to move l the guide, a control member operatively connecting the elements and movable therewith, and variable means to cause actuation of the control member during lits movement to cause the driving element during its movement between the given limits to reciprocate the driven element given limits to reciprocate the driven element variable distances at variable speeds to vary the distance and speed of movement of the guide.

11. A material distributing apparatus comprising a guide movable to distribute an advancing material, a driving element, means to reciprocate the element between given limits, a driven element, and means to cause movement of the arm relative to the driving element to cause the arm to move the driven element between wider limits than the said aforementioned limits.

12. A material distributing apparatus comprising a guide movable to distribute an advancing material, a driving element, meansto reciprocate the element between given limits, a driven element operatively connected to the guide to move the guide, an arm pivotally connected to each of the elements and movable with the driving element, and means to cause movement of the arm relative to the driving element to cause the arm to move the driven element between shorter limits than the said aforementioned limits.

13. A material distributing apparatus comprising a guide movable to distribute an advancing ,materiaL a driving element, means to reciprocate the element between given limits, a driven element operatively connected to the guide to move the guide, an arm pivotally connected to each of the elements and movable with the driving element, and means to cause movement of the arm relative to the driving element to cause the arm to move the driven element between limits wider and shorter than the said aforementioned limits.

14. A material distributing apparatus comprising a guide movable to distribute an advancing material, a driving element, means to reciprocate the element between given limits, a driven element operatively connected to the guide to move the guide, an arm pivotally connected to each of the elements and movable with the driving element, and variable cam means to cause movement of the arm relative to the driving element to cause the arm to move the driven element between limits wider and shorter than the said aforementioned limits.

JOHN N. SELVIG. 

